A politically-minded social researcher's view of the world, work, and life in general.

Monthly Archives: September 2007

The top 10 books of 2006 have been announced; and “And tango makes three” tops the list. If you haven’t read it, it is extremely cute. If you are having a baby soon (and I know you to the extent that I might send you a gift), you may be getting this as your gift, so watch out. So after looking at the list, reading this article and thinking about the fact that banned book week starts today, I thought it would be good to see how many of the 100 most challenged books of 1990-2000 I had read. Below you will find the list. Books in bold are ones I remember having read. Books in bold italics are ones that I remember as being life altering, one of my favorites, or having a huge impact. Overall, I would say that many of the best books I have ever read are on this list. Many other favorites can be found on other banned lists.

Finally, if you are looking for a book to read, let me suggest any of the following:

The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000

Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz

Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling

Forever by Judy Blume

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman

My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

The Giver by Lois Lowry

It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris

Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine

A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Sex by Madonna

Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel

The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers

In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak

The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard

The Witches by Roald Dahl

The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein

Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry

The Goats by Brock Cole

Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane

Blubber by Judy Blume

Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan

Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam

We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier

Final Exit by Derek Humphry

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Beloved by Toni Morrison

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

The Pigman by Paul Zindel

Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard

Deenie by Judy Blume

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden

The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar

Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)

Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole

Cujo by Stephen King

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell

Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy

Ordinary People by Judith Guest

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras

Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

Crazy Lady by Jane Conly

Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher

Fade by Robert Cormier

Guess What? by Mem Fox

The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Native Son by Richard Wright

Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday

The other day I was wondering around the web, as I am apt to do, and I found a document (which I will link to as soon as I find the website it came from) that helps to give an overview of children and trafficking in Chile. One of the nice things about this document, is that it cites where all the numbers come from thus making it feel more valid. I thought I would share some of the relevant findings:

Child Trafficking: Chile is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for both laboral and sexual exploitation. Traffickers are know to contact victims and their families directly or through advertisements offering jobs as domestic help, model, or product promoters. US Dept of State TIP 2005

Child prostitution and pornography: A 2003 SENAME study found at least 3,700 children were victims of commercial sexual exploitation. US Dept of State TIP 2005 More can be found on that in my piece here. Also, in 1998 “Operation Cathedral” exposed a link between Chilean pedophile network and the international pornography trade. This include 19 other countries as well. There are reports of children as young as 7 expoited through prostitution and sex tourism in Chile’s 4 largest cities. In 2003 a US man was arrested in the Santiago airport for possessing child pornography. Although the national authorities deny it, ECPAT claims that Chile is a sex tourism destination Ecpat CSEC database

I was having lunch the other day at a friend’s house. His parents were asking me what I think of Valapaiso and Viña del Mar. I was talking about how I like each in its own way. They were slightly surprised, assuming that as an American I would clearly have a preference for the more upscale, planned city of Viña del Mar. They liked Viña better.

They also talked about something I hadn’t really thought much about; they prosed that Valparaiso becoming a World Heritage Site is a bad thing. They look at is as glorifying poverty; failing to see the misery people live in and rather romanticize their lives, their housing, and their squaller. Furthermore, they see it as a way to not have to confront the poverty or work to change the lives of those in this country with the least. I am not sure that I totally area, but I do see their point.

Another disagreement in the conversation arose when I was talking about reasons I like Cerro Polanco. One of the reasons is the close quarters that the different social classes live in (in harmony) on the hill. Next to my house, which people refer to as the castle, you can find people squatting in shanty houses, up the road you can find almost every degree in between. Again, said friends did not like this– they are about as far left as you can get and anti-social classes as a concept.

However, here, I stick by my point. Living together, the people come to a better understanding of the other. I come from an area within the US (like most areas within the US) that is extremely segregated by both class and race. I believe that it is easy for a child to grow up in their communities and never befriend someone of a different social status; in some cases, even see them up close. This distance gives weight, even validity, to stereotypes and prejudices.

The other day Mombian pointed out that people who know 2 or more LGBT individuals are more likely to vote in favor of protections for LGBT people regardless of their (the voter’s) political affiliation. I assume that something similar must be true when talking about classes. An upper or middle class person who has made friends with or knows someone who has demonstrated how hard it is to survive on minimum wage, is probably more likely to vote for an increase in minimum wage. Granted, this is just my extrapolation of how life should work, who knows if it is true.

Yep, its that time again, time for another post on how people find this blog.Why?Well, because people search for some crazy stuff; it makes me giggle (or be appalled).Thought I would share the feelings. In the last 7 days, these are 30 of the search engine results that brought people to Clare Says:

“I sold my mother” – Shame on you!

“japanese inside outside front” – Huh?

“baby bumblebee food” – Don’t they suck juice out of flowers? (most unscientific answer ever—if this is for a science report, do not use my knowledge)

“brain flower” – Okay, I understand how you got here.I call it that too.I have a link to a picture of one here.

“blogs on prostitution” – I am going to give this person the benefit of the doubt and assume hope

“have sex with young prostitute” – I am less inclined to give this person the benefit of the doubt!

“st. louis mountains and oceans” – Sorry to disappoint. I doubt you will find anything about this on my blog or anyone else’s. I lived in St. Louis during grad school and can safely tell you that it has no ocean or mountain.

“dealing with brothels” – As in as a customer? As a law enforcement agency? As a trafficked individual?

“lesbian sex traficking outside of the U.S.A.” – Not sure I am aware of lesbians being specifically targeted within the USA; although there is a higher rate of runaways among LGBT youth putting them in an at-risk group. Did you know that statistically within 72 hours of being on the street a child will be approached by either a john (customer) or a pimp? Scary stuff.

“adopting trafficked children” – I know that several centers in Cambodia did have adoption programs and trafficked children; that said, they were never advertised that way.

“MOLDOVA SEX” – I am assuming it is like sex any where else in the world.

“finding prostitutes, Binghamton” – Never been to Binghamton and I really don’t think I would want to help you anyway. I have a feeling you are one of those people who was awfully disappointed by my musings.

“sex tours southeast asia” – SHAME ON YOU!

“ive found a little baby bumble bee” – So many people find this blog while searching for the lyrics to that song. I don’t have them here. But, try this place. In fact, if you google the song, I am the first site that pops up.

“picture of potty training outside” – Nope. And I don’t even really know what you mean by outside. Do you mean like when you are camping?

“drug sihanokville” – Sorry to disappoint. To my knowledge, its a place, not a drug. But, if you do go, stay at Two Fish.

“purchase a sex traffic woman” – Why? To save them? Nicholas D.Kristof of the New York Times did.

“Why did Java come in Cambodia?” – Not sure, but you can ask the owner if you are there. She is often in the restaurant, short, light brownish, curlyish hair. Also, who cares why? The food is fabulous!

“women breastfeeding puppies videos” – This one has haunted me since back in the days of Coming2Cambodia. I am still not sure what they are looking for. I am sure it is not here. And yet, not a day goes by that someone doesn’t visit my site looking for something along these lines.

There was a period after college, I was living in Moldova, that I felt like everyone around me was having babies and getting married. I missed those occasions, because I was poor and in Moldova.Then we had a lull.

Apparently the next wave has hit. I am currently in Chile with a ten month contract, this is what I know is happening so far:

Weddings:

Mari got married in Germany (Sadly, I missed the wedding as it was my first month on the job). Mari is a friend from Georgetown who was an exchange student from Japan. She me her current husband, a German, while studying in Bosnia. Talk about international!

J eloped in Malta (I found out after the fact (via someone elses blog and then facebook and then an email), but I am sure I was not half as annoyed as his mother was)

Rick is getting married on Oct 5th in Lincoln Nebraska. (I am not going to be able to attend this wedding either). Rick was a friend from grad school.

Arlette is getting married in November (I will be attending this wedding as she is a friend from here in Viña del Mar and the wedding is just down the block). Arlette is currently a psychologist with the state child protection agency; we took an anthropology elective together in college.

L is getting married in December (civil ceremony) and probable in February (religious ceremony and big party). She is my host sister who I have known for 11 years. I have never seen her so happy. Besides getting married, she is two weeks away from graduating from medical school.

Mary is getting married in April in Pheonix, AZ. I am not only planning on attending this wedding, but she just asked me to be a bridesmaid! I can’t even start to explain how much I love her and her fiancé. Great people! Ironically, I also know Mer from Chile. She was in the same exchange program as I in 2000 and I continue to have lunch with her old host family every Sunday.

Baptisms and Babies:

Three of my classmates from high school in Chile had babies within 2 months of one another at the beginning of this year; another three friends from home had kids (Congrats to Carla, Pancho, Yoselyn, Lakshmi, Sarah, and Habiba!!!)

Agustin, Carla’s kid, will be baptized and I will officially be named Godmother at a date to be announced but before I leave this country.

Pancho’s kid Pancho will also be being baptized soon.

Erin, another high school exchange student to Chile, should be having her little one any day now.

N, another recent graduate of GWB, is about several months out from having her little girl.

and these are just the babies I know of of and can think of off the top of my head.Funerals:

Granted, these are not planned, and I think I have already had enough of them for the year. So, please—no more!

Tata, Carla’s grandfather passed away and last week I attended the funeral. He was ill, had lost his wife 9 months earlier, and was in pain. It was for the best. We knew it was coming. It was sad nonetheless.

Someone at the embassy pointed out this front page Washington Post article yesterday. In many ways I think it is very interesting– and points to some of the problems one finds in research with clandestine issues. I also thought it was interesting that Ronald Weitzer was their “expert on sex trafficking”. Some readers of this blog may remember that he was in fact part of the discussion on prostitution a little while back; and that we do not necessarily see eye to eye.

Finally, I was thinking about numbers. Specifically, I was thinking about my past clients– people who were trafficked to the United States and exploited for months in horrendous and dangerous conditions. Clients who may or may not receive T-visas because of how hard they are to procure. Aside from the fact that my clients, whom I have no doubt were victims of trafficking, were not counted– I also have to think of the others. Under the TVPA, if a person chooses to not cooperate in the prosecution, they can be sent home. For every client that I worked with, 3 others had choosen to go back to their country and not look for protection under the TVPA. Why? They had many reasons: some longed to be with their families and go home, some feared for their families if they were to try and press charges, some simply no longer had faith that any system would honestly protect them. They went home. They were never counted.

I am not trying to argue that human trafficking is rampant in the states or even arguing with the article; however, I do read it with different eyes because of my experiences.